Jorginho labels Koulibaly a ‘real leader’ as Chelsea midfielder relishes reunion with former Napoli team-mate

Chelsea midfielder Jorginho hailed new signing Kalidou Koulibaly as a “real leader” as he expressed his delight at being reunited with his former Napoli team-mate at Stamford Bridge.

The Premier League club signed Koulibaly from the Partenopei last week for a reported fee of £33.8million (€40m), with the Senegal captain penning a four-year contract.

Koulibaly made 236 Serie A appearances during a distinguished eight-year spell with Napoli, helping them to three second-placed finishes and one Coppa Italia triumph. 

Jorginho starred alongside Koulibaly during the defender’s first four seasons in Italy, and the pair are now set to link-up in England.

The Italy international has revealed he discussed such a reunion with Koulibaly on several occasions after making his own move to west London in 2018, as he lauded the defender for his leadership abilities.

“We spoke a lot about it,” Jorginho told the club’s website. “Even before I came here Chelsea were interested in him, and finally now it’s happening so it’s really good.

“I am so, so happy he’s here. As a player, he’s a brilliant defender – fast, strong and he has so much quality on the ball with both feet. He’s also a real leader.

“We’ve stayed in contact since I left Napoli.

“He speaks better English already than I do so that will be good for him to help settle in. It’s going to be really easy for him because of the person he is. 

“Of course, we will help him to make it maybe a bit easier for him to get involved with team-mates and everything, but even if he didn’t know us it would be easy for him because he’s such a good guy.”